ADSORPTION-ENTANGLEMENT LAYERS IN FLOWING HIGH-MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYMER SOLUTIONS.

This work is concerned with the formation and nature of thick multimolecular layers and with the effect they have on fluid transport in general and viscosity measurements in particular. In the present first part the existence of such layers is established through a flow visualization method and the layer formation diagnosed in situ is correlated with macroscopic flow effects. Two flow geometries are used, Couette and channel flow. It is demonstrated that owing to the fact that adsorption entanglement layers alter the geometry of the flow channel the time dependence of flow effects, per se need not indicate shear thickening (or thinning), in fact that there is any departure from Newtonian flow behaviour.